Sportsnet's Mike Brophy had no problem whatsoever with Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall's hit on Chicago Blackhawks forward Martin Havlat in terms of its legality--he actually believes that the hit should not have drawn a single second of penalty time--but he does believe that clean hits which result in an unintentional blow to the head should be banned:

May 25, Sportsnet: The Niklas Kronwall hit on Martin Havlat was one of the best, most perfectly timed collisions I've witnessed in 33 years of covering hockey.

And it nearly made me lose my lunch. To watch Havlat lying on the ice, his eyes open, but so oblivious to his surroundings, was utterly painful for anyone who has ever played the game. Or, for that matter, anyone who has even watched hockey. It was sickening. And I won't even get into the idiot players from both teams coming together in a scrum and nearly stepping on Havlat as he lay helpless on the ice. Knuckleheads!

It's funny, one of the things we all love about hockey is the toughness -- the all-out warfare that takes place in an otherwise controlled environment. Sixty minutes of do or die. It's what makes hockey the greatest sport in the world.

But it is a changing game. There is a greater emphasis on skating and skill and the product is definitely improving. This year's NHL playoffs are the best I have ever seen and one of the main reasons is the league's skilled players are allowed to strut their stuff. The NHL clearly knew what it was doing when it launched a crackdown on obstruction coming out of the lockout even if there were some growing pains along the way.

As such, Brophy asked OHL commissioner David Branch about the Ontario league's adoption of a rule which penalizes blows to the head like a high stick--whether it's intentional or unintentional, a player receives a two-minute penalty when he connects with an opponent's head:

"Initially there was concern that it would take the physicality out of the game, but that has not been the case," Branch said. "We still have a significant amount of hitting in our league. What it has done, however, is make players more aware of their actions. They know that when they go to hit an opponent they cannot do anything that might result in a head shot or they will be penalized. It gets them thinking. The biggest thing it has done is take the legal head shot out of the game."

I don't have a problem with an OHL-style rule banning any and all blows to the head. Niklas Kronwall could still knock the snot out of his opponents on a very regular basis, and I believe that the Wings would still make the comments they did to the AP's Larry Lage about Kronwall's play:

May 25, Associated Press: If Havlat is hesitant to step back on the ice before becoming a free agent this summer, it'll be understandable. He was hit by defenceman Niklas Kronwall in the first period of Game 3 and by defenceman Brad Stuart in the middle of Game 4.

"The physicality of Stuart and Kronwall is so important for our success at playoff time," Babcock said.

Rafalski said Kronwall's open-ice checks remind him of the ones dished out by former New Jersey Devils teammate Scott Stevens. Kronwall was given a major penalty and was ejected from Game 3 for his shot on Havlat.

"He's not as big as Scotty, but he still delivers," Rafalski said.

Long story short, I have no problem with a ban on hits to the head. Players would adjust, and we'd probably see fewer players laying on the ice after hits in which they got laid out.

In the interim, however, as Kronwall said, "You don't want to see anybody get hurt," but it was a beautiful hit.